New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will visit Sri Lanka from October 10 to 12 to attend the 23rd Council of Ministers (COM) meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) on October 11, hosted by Sri Lanka, the current IORA Chair. This would be the EAM's second visit to Sri Lanka. At this meeting, India will assume the Vice-Chair role of IORA for 2023-25, leading to Chairship in 2025-27. The Council of Ministers will review IORA’s recent activities and outline future cooperation.
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Besides IORA engagements, EAM will have bilateral meetings in Colombo. Jaishankar’s visit to Sri Lanka comes two months after Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe travelled to India in July to bolster relations between the two sides. The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is a dynamic inter-governmental organisation aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and sustainable development within the Indian Ocean Region through its 23 Member States and 11 Dialogue Partners.
The 23 members include Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, France, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand and the UAE. It is pertinent to note that India and Sri Lanka unveiled a new economic partnership for maritime, air, energy and financial connectivity, including the use of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system, during Wickremesinghe’s visit.
